Filmmaking has always been both an art and a science, but the tools available in service of both have never been so full of possibility. Today, there is seemingly no limit to what might unfurl from a director's imagination. In this opening series of articles and videos, Vanity Fair, in partnership with Rolex, sits down with directors at the height of their careers as they reflect on what it means to make films today—pushing the art form forward while honoring its legacy, craft and enduring spirit of humanity. —Mark Guiducci, Vanity Fair Global Editorial Director
hollywood
Hollywood’s Child-Actor Conundrum
Young stars have been suffering for decades. Could these suggestions actually help them?
Season 3
WHAT IS CINEMA?Jafar Panahi Explains How He Risked Everything to Create It Was Just an Accident
In the next installment of Vanity Fair’s What Is Cinema? series, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi reflects on the misfortunes that almost ruined his movie—and his career.
Vanity Fair in Partnership with RolexDaniel Battsek Talks the Enduring Legacy of Cinema
Film at Lincoln Center and Rolex are together championing the field and highlighting the stars of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
WHAT IS CINEMA?Joachim Trier Explains How the Idea of Homecoming Drives Sentimental Value
In the next installment of Vanity Fair’s What Is Cinema? series, Sentimental Value director Joachim Trier returns to the Oslo home at the center of his film.
Vanity Fair in Partnership with RolexCelebrating Cinema, One New York Film Festival At A Time
NYFF's artistic director Dennis Lim discusses new films, emerging voices and the festival’s evolving mission.
What Is Cinema?Jon M. Chu Explains How Seeing the Original Wicked Informed His Films
In the next installment of Vanity Fair’s What Is Cinema? series, Wicked: For Good director Jon M. Chu returns to the San Francisco theatre where the Broadway musical had its world premiere.
Season 2
What Is Cinema?Furiosa Can Teach Us How to Survive the Apocalypse—Just Ask George Miller
In Vanity Fair’s What Is Cinema? series, the Oscar-winning filmmaker breaks down his inspirations for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
VANITY FAIR IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROLEXInside The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures With Director and President Amy Homma
The Academy Museum’s director and president talks about celebrating all aspects of filmmaking, bringing new people to the silver screen, and the value of an enduring partnership with Rolex.
What Is Cinema?Richard Linklater Explains How He Turned True Crime Into Screwball Comedy
In the next installment of Vanity Fair’s What Is Cinema? series, director Richard Linklater breaks down his inspirations for Hit Man.
VANITY FAIR IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROLEXHow the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Looks Forward by Looking Back
Academy president Janet Yang talks about diversifying membership, inspiring initiatives, and the essential value of authentic partnerships.
What Is Cinema?Lee Isaac Chung’s Childhood Trauma Drew Him to Twisters
In the next installment of Vanity Fair’s What Is Cinema? series, director Lee Isaac Chung breaks down his inspirations for Twisters.
VANITY FAIR IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROLEXAgustina San Martín and Janicza Bravo Step Into Their Own, Together
The two filmmakers discuss building sustainable careers, encouraging each other, learning from the past, and what they can teach the next generation in the latest installment of What Is Cinema?, a series in partnership with Rolex.
a wonderful night for oscarEvery Academy Award for Best Actor: A Complete History of the Winners
Learn more about every best-actor Oscar winner over the last 95 years, from 1929 to today.
Season 1
What Is Cinema?Rian Johnson and the Daniels on the Film Rules They Love to Follow—And Break
In Vanity Fair’s series What Is Cinema?, the directors of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Everything Everywhere All at Once talk craft.
VANITY FAIR IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROLEXRolex Supports the Transmission of Knowledge to Future Generations of Filmmakers Through Its Mentoring Program
For more than half a century, Rolex has partnered with some of the world’s most talented artists and leading cultural institutions to celebrate excellence and contribute to perpetuating artistic heritage, creating a link between the past, present and future.
What Is Cinema?Sarah Polley and Ruben Östlund on Juggling Acting Ensembles and Pushing Their Audiences
In Vanity Fair’s series What Is Cinema?, the Oscar-nominated writer-directors behind Women Talking and Triangle of Sadness reveal their biggest challenges.
VANITY FAIR IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROLEXRolex and Cinema: A Long-Term Partnership in Excellence
While the relationship between Rolex and film dates back decades—see Rolex watches appearing on the wrists of actors in films such as Network, Apollo 13, The Usual Suspects, and many more—the pairing reached new heights in 2017.
What Is Cinema?Directors Gina Prince-Bythewood and Halle Berry on Their “Very Small Sisterhood”
To kick off Vanity Fair’s new series, What Is Cinema?, the directors of The Woman King and Bruised connect on the “had-to-do” stories they brought to the screen.
DREAM WEAVERChloé Zhao Talks Hamnet, Reviving Buffy, and Navigating Hollywood as a “Deeply Neurodivergent” Director
Nearly five years ago Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland broke ground and swept awards season. Now the director is ready to do it again with Hamnet, a devastating portrayal of love and loss, infused with Zhao’s own grief and hope.
37 HOURS IN HOLLYWOODHow James Cameron Convinced Leonardo DiCaprio to Make Titanic
And more stories from Cameron’s career, as captured in a definitive, hour-long Vanity Fair interview.
37 HOURS IN HOLLYWOODOn the Set of Star Wars: Starfighter, Shawn Levy’s Inner Child Is “Losing His Mind”
The Stranger Things producer and Deadpool & Wolverine director still can’t quite believe he got tapped to make a new Star Wars movie, starring Ryan Gosling.
What Is Cinema?How 4 Directors Found a Way to Go Home Again
New movies from Steven Spielberg, James Gray, Joanna Hogg, and Alejandro González Iñárritu ask tough questions about their own pasts—and remind us of cinema’s power as a medium for memories.- Little Gold Men
Richard Linklater Doesn’t Believe In Hit Men, but He Does Believe In Patience
“I’m not afraid to sit with something and just wait until the time is right,” the writer-director says of the yearslong process of making Hit Man and two of his upcoming projects.
Now Streaming
The 25 Best Movies on Netflix to Watch in November 2026
From comedy classics to recent Oscar winners, these are the titles you don’t want to miss.
Hollywood
Sacha Baron Cohen, Nathan Fielder, and the Death of American Shame
The former collaborators made two wildly different films that arrive at the same bleak conclusion: Our country has become a place where shamelessness is rewarded. Vanity Fair talked with Baron Cohen about his relationship with Fielder and his realization that the behavior he specialized in exposing is now commonplace.
MOVIES
The 13 Best Horror Movies to Stream This Halloween
A highly opinionated guide to the scariest, spookiest, and most seasonally appropriate horror movies to stream this October.
in conversation
Stanley Says: Tucci on Fatherhood, AI, and “Semiretirement”
The Oscar nominee stars in the new art heist movie Masterplan, and talks authenticity in the artificial age: “I can’t tell half the time what’s real and what isn’t on Instagram. Someone has to go, ‘Stanley, that’s AI.’”
Movies
You Can Know Everything About You Can See Everything (Spoilers Ahead!)
The top secret documentary from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim has finally hit theaters. Here’s what shocked us the most.
movies
Whalefall: A Deep Dive
What? How? Why? The answers to these questions, and more, are just beyond the seabed.
FILM
Wildwood, the New Stop-Motion Animation Film From LAIKA Studios, Took 16 Years to Make
At an event cohosted by VF at the Design Museum in London, guests got a behind-the-scenes look at the costumes, puppets, props, and sets that went into making Wildwood.
MOVIES
Jane Fonda, Anne Hathaway, Guillermo del Toro... Hollywood Comes to Tom Cruise's Aid After 'Digger' Flop
Released in theaters earlier this month, Digger has received a decidedly mixed reception. In response to the countless negative reviews, several Hollywood figures have come to the defense of Tom Cruise’s new role.
HOLLYWOOD
A Night of Revelry at the Wicker After-Party
At cocktail lounge The Mulberry, Skarsgård donned a “Lick My Worm” shirt and laughed with the crew about future merch opportunities, six-person sex scene rehearsals, and what it’s really like to be a wooden man.
A BILLION TO ONE
Why Artificial Works and The Social Reckoning Doesn’t
I sat down with Vanity Fair’s features editor and resident Hollywood expert Hillary Busis to review two of the season’s most-talked-about tech films.
HOLLYWOOD
Behind The Bar: How Bruce Willis Made Magic at Cafe Central
Before his extraordinary career took off with Moonlighting, Willis was already a star as a bartender on the Upper West Side.
hollywood
Josh Hartnett Left Hollywood a Heartthrob. Now He’s Back for His Middle-Age Renaissance
He’s starring opposite Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson in Verity, and working with Christopher Nolan and Oliver Stone—all part of an era in which Hartnett is finally becoming “the kind of actor that I believe I’ve always wanted to be,” as he tells VF.
Film
At the Artificial Premiere, Andrew Garfield Casts Doubt on Sam Altman's Memory of Watching Him Film
Garfield, the star of Luca Guadagnino’s dark horror-comedy about the evolution of AI, disputed an anecdote that Altman had told ‘Vanity Fair’ in a separate interview
ON THE SCENE
Martin Scorsese Resurrects a Technicolor Masterpiece—and Gives It the Splashy Premiere It Was Always Due
During the New York Film Festival, the acclaimed director hosted a screening with Rolex of the almost-lost-to-history British film Gone to Earth, which was recently restored by his nonprofit The Film Foundation. The film nerds came out—and then some.
HOLLYWOOD
Sylvester Stallone on His Life Before Rocky: From Cleaning Lion Cages to His Gangster Wedding
In his memoir The Steps, Stallone looks back on the years of rejections, odd jobs, and financial struggles that led him to become one of the most recognizable stars in American cinema.
Awards
Tom Cruise’s Toughest Stunt Yet: Campaigning for an Oscar Without Looking Like He Wants One
Timothée Chalamet and Bradley Cooper learned the cost of looking thirsty. Tom Cruise will have to pull off a tricky balancing act for his Digger campaign.
VANITIES
Meet Joseph Zada, the Hunger Games Star About to Catch Fire
Zada battled thousands of fellow up-and-comers to nab the role of Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping—and that's not the only way his life imitates his art.
Movies
I Can’t See Anything: A Tale About Elizabeth Holmes, Billy Evans, A24, and Me
One writer finds himself caught in the web spun by Nathan Fielder, the notorious couple he shadowed, and the film studio’s cloak-and-dagger PR.
movies
Making the Elizabeth Holmes Doc Fried Nathan Fielder’s and Lance Oppenheim’s Brains
The pair told a packed house on Wednesday that they’re still recovering: “Just literally, the laws of reality and everything we thought was going on outside just evaporated.”
Movies
Aaron Sorkin on His Reckoning
The writer-director discusses Mark Zuckerberg, reshoots, lawyers, Mikey Madison, and whether Meta can be redeemed.
movies
Digger, Tom Cruise’s Comeback Vehicle, Is Haunted by the Ghost of the Old Tom Cruise
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s new film is the most interesting movie Cruise has made in 15 years—but it might not spark the renaissance Cruise seems to hope it will.
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movies
Inside Naza, the Documentary Israel Doesn’t Want You to See
On the scene as an explosive film about the Israeli military’s alleged disregard for civilian life in Gaza debuts.
Movies
“I Was a Mess”: Barry Jenkins Revisits Moonlight, 10 Years Later
Ahead of a rerelease of the Oscar-winning film, in theaters on October 2, Jenkins reveals the film’s emotional hold on him, the best-picture mix-up that sent him to therapy, and the challenges of the “fucking vortex” of awards season.
HOLLYWOOD
The Second Coming Of Jordan Firstman
Six years ago, he was best known for his absurd impressions on Instagram. Now he’s gate-crashing awards season with a sweet, tender coming-of-age tale called Club Kid. We caught up with an auteur on the brink—and the colorful cast of his big debut.
Party Report
Literally All Of Los Angeles Attended The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art’s Opening Night
An array of the most influential Californians were at the pre-opening party for George Lucas and Mellody Hobson’s showcase for their vast collection of illustrated stories.
Exclusive
First Look: The Swan: Behind The Mirror Dissects Reality TV’s Most Infamous Trainwreck
Documentarian Erin Lee Carr takes on The Swan, one of the most reviled shows in reality TV history.
Movies
The Uprising: The True Story of the Peasants’ Revolt That Inspired Andrew Garfield’s New Movie
And no, it was not the story that inspired Robin Hood.
HOLLYWOOD
Go Behind the Scenes of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, 20 Years Later
A new book by photographer Andrew Durham offers an intimate portrait of the making of Sofia Coppola’s beloved film.
awards season
Helen Mirren Remembers Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem at TIFF Tribute Awards
Isabelle Huppert, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and more were also on hand at the film festival’s annual awards ceremony.
Venice Film Festival 2026
All the Winners at the Venice Film Festival 2026
John Malkovich's award season journey begins with a big win at Venice, while May El-Toukhy's Woman Unknown makes a Golden Lion-powered name for itself.
PERSONAL HISTORY
Practical Magic’s Private Tragedy
The writer, whose sister was killed in a horrifying act of violence years before Dunne made the movie, reflects for Vanity Fair on how his personal tragedy informed his filmmaking.
EXCLUSIVE
In Babies, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick Stare Down Parenthood
Rogen, Kendrick, and Lauren Miller Rogen talk to Vanity Fair about the real-life experiences that inspired their new movie, a will-they-won’t-they story about having children.
hollywood
17 Movies We Can’t Wait to See at the Toronto Film Festival
From a project starring Helen Mirren as Patricia Highsmith to a documentary on global pop star Lisa to a film about the making of Rocky, these are some of the most exciting films to premiere at TIFF.
Movies
In The Debut, Julianne Moore Learns to Sing (Badly, Then Beautifully)
“She's so good and she's so weird,” director Jesse Eisenberg says of her surreal performance as a suburban housewife who loses herself in community theater.
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Movies
Nathan Fielder’s Elizabeth Holmes Doc Met With Shock and Awe at Secret Screening
“I really am struggling to this day to understand exactly what I experienced,” says Fielder, who lived with the Theranos founder and her family in the days leading up to her imprisonment.
VENICE FILM FESTIVAL 2026
Damien Chazelle’s La La Land Celebrates a Decade of Enchantment in Venice
Damien Chazelle’s Oscar-winning musical gets a starry anniversary celebration in Venice, with Amal Clooney, Orlando Bloom, Kate Mara, and many more.
Movies
Léa Seydoux Made Four Films in a Year. It Finally Made Her Feel Like an Actor.
At Telluride, the French star talks about her breakneck year, from a body-swap thriller to an alien comedy, and why acting has always been her way of proving she exists.
Hollywood
At the Venice Film Festival, Hollywood Grapples With Global Politics, From Gaza to the Trump Administration
NAZA, a gripping documentary about the ongoing crisis in Gaza from Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, received a 25-minute standing ovation from the crowd at its Thursday premiere—the longest in Venice Film Festival history.
Hollywood
Sandra Bullock on Grief and Motherhood
The Oscar winner takes us on a winding journey from Speed to Miss Congeniality to Practical Magic 2 and beyond, and talks about how she poured her grief and fear into her new movie: “There was art imitating life for sure.”
Movies
Fewer Stars, Higher Stakes: What’s Really Behind Venice’s Slimmed-Down Slate
Why isn’t Hollywood showing up on the Lido this year? Sources blame last year’s flameouts, soaring costs, and social media’s looming effects.
Movies
The View From Venice: What to Expect From Fall’s First Major Film Festival
A sneak peak at what’s to come from the 83rd Venice Film Festival, including buzzy titles like Primetime, Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger, NAZA, and more.
HOLLYWOOD
British Up-and-Comer Spike Fearn Would Risk It All for Love—Onscreen, Anyway
Following roles in Aftersun, The Batman, and Alien: Romulus, the actor takes his first leading turn as a lovesick Manchester musician in Finding Emily. He speaks with VF about recording at Abbey Road, the Gallagher brothers, and his dream acting gig: playing motorcycle racer Barry Sheene.
crime
How the Lindsay Clancy and Gabby Petito Cases Unlock Mica Miller Documentary Death of the Pastor’s Wife
The filmmakers behind a new Netflix docuseries unpack a marital horror story that ends in death—and the important mental health message they want the true crime genre’s predominantly female audience to hear.
Exclusive
First Look: Helen Mirren Captures the Difficult Genius of Patricia Highsmith in A Talent for Murder
Before its TIFF premiere, Mirren opens up about embodying literature’s most uncompromising misanthrope in Anton Corbijn’s new film.
movies
60 New Movies We Can’t Wait to See This Fall
Featuring everyone from Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt to Zendaya and Mikey Madison.
Exclusive
First Look: Danny Boyle Didn’t Want to Make Rupert Murdoch a Villain in Ink
The Venice Film Festival opening movie stars Guy Pearce as the media mogul, who recruits an editor to revamp The Sun in 1969 and changes the course of media forever.
HOLLYWOOD
Maddie’s Secret? She’s a Viral Sensation
Vanity Fair chats with Maddie’s Secret writer, star, and director John Early about the indie film’s VOD release, the enduring influence of Showgirls, and the second wind his film has received thanks to a viral GIF.
HOLLYWOOD
The Odyssey’s Himesh Patel Would Follow Matt Damon Into War
A month after Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey hit theaters, audiences have had time to sit with and reflect on the enormity of the experience. So has Patel, who has deep thoughts to share about leadership, fate, the concept of the righteous victory—and starring in the pilot for Ryan Coogler’s X-Files reboot.
Movies
Sadie Sink Finally Speaks About Her Top Secret Spider-Man Character
As revealed in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the Stranger Things star will be a key part of the Marvel cinematic universe moving forward.